


Sanders Sides Part 5

by LadyoftheWoods



Series: Sanders Sides [5]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-03-17 10:58:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18963877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyoftheWoods/pseuds/LadyoftheWoods
Summary: The Sides continue their journey through Deceit's realm, encountering some personal challenges.





	Sanders Sides Part 5

**Author's Note:**

> This is a longer chapter, I didn't want to break it up because I felt then they would be too short. Anyway, hope you like it, let me know what you think!  
> Also, if you like my writing in general, check out my DeviantArt page at 98prilla. There's a bunch of stuff over there that's not on here, though no other Sides stuff yet.

The tunnel narrowed until they walked through it single file, then crouched, then crawled. Howls echoed through the rock, vibrating the walls closing in around them. Slimy, sticky, wetness crawled over their hands, spiderwebs covering their faces, hissing ringing in their ears, icy breath on the back of their necks.  
“Guys?” Patton called out, voice shaky, on the verge of tears. “Guys!”  
“We’re here Pat. It’s ok.” Logan answered from behind him, almost bumping into Patton before realizing he’d stopped.  
“I don’t… I don’t know if I can do this. I wanna get out. I can’t….” Logan could feel him trembling, his breath coming shallow and fast. It took him a moment to realize he knew what this was.  
“Roman!” Logan called, getting no answer. Usually Roman managed to talk down Virgil when this happened to him, Logan was no good at it. His statistics and probabilities just made it worse. But right now, Roman was out of earshot, or worse, and he was all Patton had.  
“Ok, Patton, listen to me. I know I’m not good at the whole blind optimism thing, and I know that I can’t say everything is alright, because quite frankly it’s not. We’re in a dark tunnel probably designed to scare us away or drive us crazy on our way to rescue a friend who was probably kidnapped by our least favorite person in the world and I know none of that is comforting but here’s the thing,” he paused, taking a breath so he could continue “I know we can’t do this without you. Because you love everyone and trust blindly and are everything Deceit is not. I get hung up on the details, Roman gets overdramatic, but you just are unapologetically you. And you can do this. Ok?” It was silent for a long moment, but he could hear Patton’s snuffles dying down.  
“Ok. Logan- “  
“There’s light up ahead, I think we’re almost there!” Roman’s voice echoed from down the tunnel, bouncing back to them as the ground began to rumble.  
“What’s that?” Patton asked smally.  
“We need to move!” Logan replied, pushing Patton, who started scrambling forwards as the walls began to shake, dust and small pebbles falling on their heads and making them cough.  
Roman was already out the other end, holding his hand out to help pull Patton out as the ground shook so violently, they fell. Logan was halfway out when a rock slide came rushing down the side of the cliff face.  
Time seemed to freeze, and without thinking Patton lunged forwards, grabbing Logan’s arm and pulling as hard and fast as he could, sending them both tumbling backwards over the grass a second before the rockslide crashed down, exactly where Logan had just been.  
In a second Patton was hugging Logan so tightly he could barely breathe, Roman trying to make sure neither was injured.  
“I’m fine, honestly, Patton please let go now.” Logan sputtered, waving off Roman and trying to disentangle from Patton enough to stand up. He finally let go, and Logan got to his feet, brushing himself off.  
They turned to face Deceit’s house, a surprisingly small rustic cabin.  
“Hey Logan?”  
“Yeah Pat?”  
“Thanks.” He let out a sheepish smile. “Now let’s go get our boy.”  
They pushed open the door, stopping on the threshold, taken aback at the sprawling complex they stepped into, it looked like an optical illusion n. All marble halls and stairs, twisting in impossible ways, doorways on the ceiling, openings to nothing.  
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Roman muttered, frustrated.  
“To be honest, we should’ve seen this coming. I mean, it is Deceit.” Logan commented.  
“So how are we supposed to find him?” Patton asked, wide eyed as he spun slowly, taking it all in.”  
“Logan, do you have a marker?” Roman asked, smiling as Logan almost immediately pulled one out of thin air.  
“I always come prepared for anything. Why?” He asked, handing it over.  
“Because now, we can see where we’ve been.” Roman replied, pulling off the cap and drawing a large X over the nearest doorway. He turned back grinning. “Not bad right? Using my smarts.” Roman tapped his temple. Logan rolled his eyes, playfully shoving past Roman.  
“Excuse you sir, I’m the best at puzzles so I’ll take it from here.” Logan replied, taking the lead, as Roman fell into step on the right and Patton on the left, ready to conquer the world.  
And then they stepped into the hall of mirrors.  
“Woooow, this is nifty, isn’t it? Look at this Logan, I’m a giant!” Patton said, looking in one of the illusion mirrors, stretched tall and skinny.  
“Roman, what do you look like?” Patton asked excitedly, clapping his hands, turning around seeing no one.  
“Um Logan? Roman? Where you at kiddos? Playing hide and seek huh? Alright, guess I’m it!” he called out, pushing away his uneasiness and pushing onwards into the mirror maze.  
“Look who it is, Papa Patton here to wrangle the wayward son.” Patton spun, seeing Virgil in a mirror.  
“Kiddo, I’m so happy to see you, I was worried sick! Also, nice music reference, I see what you did there.” He hurried towards Virgil, bumping face first into a mirror. Turning, he saw half a dozen mirrors reflecting Virgil in different forms, tall and skinny, fat and short, wide and stout. “Now how do I get to you?” He asked. Virgil tsked.  
“Are you happy though? Because it seems to me you’ve been pretty down lately. You can’t fool me Patton, I see right through you.”  
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about Virg. This isn’t funny, come out!” He called, trying to feel his way forward through the maze.  
“Please, you act all happy and perfect all the time, but I know what you’re hiding. You’re sad. Lonely. I give you credit though, you’re almost a better actor than Roman. You stick to the script and read your lines like a good little side should and never let anyone know what’s going on below the surface.”  
“That’s not true.” Patton whispered, frantically trying to find a way through, a way out.  
“I know sometimes you cry yourself to sleep. You borrow Roman’s makeup to hide the bags under your eyes when you were up late moping. The same thoughts that play through my mind play through yours, what if we, what did we, if only, you live in the past Patton. Grow up!” Virgil’s deep voice echoed through his ears as he met no resistance of mirrors, landing on his hands and knees.  
It was a circular chamber, the mirror maze behind him. One lonely mirror standing in the middle, his own face reflected back at him.  
“Your stupid and vapid and they all know it. You never have anything useful to add, you’re just a distraction. We’d all be better off with you gone. You’d be better off gone. You. Are. Useless.”  
He felt his heart racing, his breath coming fast and shallow, all he could hear were the words he was spitting at himself, a dark cloud closing in on him. No one was here to talk him down this time. He was drowning in himself, in all the thoughts, memories, dreams he held that he pushed down to spare Thomas, to spare the others, all the darkness that weighed on him constantly that he smiled through while he was breaking inside.  
“What did I tell you Pat? No one loves you anyway.” He lifted his head, Virgil back in the mirror, arms crossed, hood up.  
“no.” Patton said slowly, getting up and looking closer at the mirror, face to face. The reflection lifted an eyebrow, smirking. “Virgil would never say that. I have a hard time sometimes absorbing the negatives. And I have a hard time admitting that and asking for help. But without me, Thomas doesn’t feel anything. And that’s not good either. And having fun is not a distraction! It helps cheer us up! It makes the hard stuff easier and the easy stuff more enjoyable. Heck, even Virgil likes it. And youuuu aren’t Virgil!!!” He gasped, pointing at the mirror in shock. The reflection rolled its eyes.  
“Really Patton, you are the slowest of the group, aren’t you? Now run along like a good boy before someone gets hurt.” The mirror Virgil hissed, vanishing in a wave of black smoke. Patton ran, determined to find the others.  
Logan adjusted his glasses, looking out at the mirror maze.  
“Oh great another hall of illusory tricks meant to confuse and upend our self esteem and bravery. Luckily these are really quite easy to navigate once you take angle of reflection into account, you’re able to determine which way is mirrors and which way is out.” He took a few steps forwards before realizing there were no other footsteps following in his wake. He turned, tapping his chin.  
“Ah, splitting us up, knowing as a group we work together and make up for each other’s insecurities and deficits, and keep each other from going too far or acting too rashly. Rather like the US’s checks and balances in government. Clever.” He turned back around, walking through the maze, adjusting his glasses once again. He was logic, and he would not be fooled by these cheap party tricks.  
“How convenient there’s only three groups in those checks and balances. Forgetting someone again huh?” Virgil asked, reflected through the mirrors. Logan raised a hand, silencing him.  
“Your tricks cannot fool me, that’s not Virgil, and it was merely coincidence.”  
“Please. You never liked me. Every time I showed up you grumbled and groaned and made snide comments until I felt even more worthless than I already did. Your logic after all, if what you’re saying isn’t completely accurate, then what is?” Logan fiddled with his tie, refusing to look at the mirrors. He knew it was baiting him, but he couldn’t not respond. Not after seeing the journal. Seeing the walls of journals.  
“Falsehood. I think logically and come to conclusions based on data I observe. But in every study, there is observer bias, and more so than that, flawed data. I observe things and interpret them, that doesn’t make me right. Have I observed that in some situations Virgil is more detrimental than helpful? Yes. However, I’ve also observed that without Virgil at all Thomas quickly falls apart, and, in some circumstances, Virgil should be the one taking the lead. There are instances where Thomas should be on guard and worried, and ready to defend himself if need be. Just because I don’t always agree with or even appreciate your, Virgil’s, input, doesn’t mean it is not necessary. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some business to attend to.” Logan finished, coming to the end of the mirror maze, striding confidently out the door. He’d never made Virgil think he’d hated him, did he?  
Roman paused, admiring his reflection.  
“Guys, this one makes my muscles look even bigger than they naturally are! Oh, and this one makes me look tall!” He posed, taking his most heroic stance.  
“Because of course all you care about is how you look. No one else matters as much as you do, do they Princey? No one else’s voice gets to be heard. You just shut us all down. Especially me.” Virgil’s voice echoed through the room, though he was nowhere to be seen.  
“Virgil, I didn’t mean what I said!” He called, frustratedly trying to get through the glass, taking the wrong turn at every crossroads.  
“What, that I’m stupid, that all I do is drag you down and hold you back, that I don’t even do anything good and if I can’t hold my tongue I should just leave?” Roman punched a mirror, shattering it.  
“I didn’t mean it! I was just…”  
“Angry? Seems you get angry at me a lot. Seems like you don’t even want me around. Well I took your advice. You won’t see me again Roman, just like you wanted. The others know this is all your fault. I wonder how long before they get sick of you too.”  
Roman slashed at the mirrors with his sword, sending glass shards flying as he charged through the maze, breaking a way through.  
“That’s not what I wanted!” He growled, falling forwards as he met no resistance of glass, barely catching himself from falling on the floor.  
“It’s always me me me with you Roman. Did you know I wanted so desperately to fit in, for you all to like me that you rejecting me over and over and over drove me further into the dark? Did you know I came here on my own, I begged for his help because I couldn’t stand to be around you anymore? Did you know every word you said cut me sharp as your blade because I most want to be like you? Did you ever think about anyone besides yourself? Did you ever think about me!?” Virgil yelled, glaring down at Roman from the center of the chamber, eyeshadow thicker than ever.  
Roman was silent, hands sweaty and breathing hard. He realized his shirt was cut up from the glass and he had cuts on his hands, his hair a mess.  
“I’m not a damsel in distress Roman. I don’t need to be saved. I’m right where I want to be. Right where I should have stayed in the first place. I don’t want you, I don’t need you, I never did. You failed. Now go home.” Roman trembled, then gripped his sword tighter and lifted his head, blazing eyes meeting Virgil’s.  
“No. I do make mistakes, and sometimes despite my best attempts I fail. But not at this. I won’t fail at this.” Roman charged, swinging his sword through where Virgil stood, connecting with nothing but air as dark smoke scattered and dissipated.  
He stood stock still for a moment, realizing his eyes were wet he angrily swiped his face with his sleeve. He sheathed his sword, taking a breath and walking onwards. He would not stop now.  
And was nearly plowed over by Patton hurdling at him from the right, Logan striding towards him from the left. Patton hugged him tight, clearly upset, while he tried to pat his back and calm him down.  
“So, I am assuming you two also went through a similar experience in a hall of mirrors meant to test our weaknesses and flaws and persuade us to turn around and or abandon each other.” Logan commented, politely dodging Patton’s hug.  
“Uh huh” Patton squeaked, and Roman nodded. Logan clapped his hands, making them both jump.  
“Logan what have we said about the noises?” Roman asked, recovering.  
“Right, I forgot sudden noises startle all of us, I simply meant we have reached the end of trials according to the classic rule of three. First the woods, then the tunnel, then the maze. Therefore, we should be at our desired destination, in this case, Virgil.” They all turned, seeing a massive and ornately carved door at the end of the hall. As one, they strode forwards and pushed it open.


End file.
